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Rho Donates $28,000 to Local Public Schools through DonorsChoose.org and Challenges Businesses to Help Fund Classrooms

Chapel Hill, NC – September 30, 2015 Rho, a Chapel Hill-based contract research organization (CRO) focused on bringing new products to market through a full range of product development services, announced today that the company will continue its support of public education in its home state through a $28,000 donation to high-poverty schools in the Research Triangle Park region of North Carolina. Rho's donation will fund 20 math and science related projects at public schools in Wake, Orange and Durham counties. As part of the donation, Rho will also provide each of its employees a $25 DonorsChoose.org gift card to donate to the school or project of their choice.

DonorsChoose.org is a service that allows teachers to request funds based on their individual classroom needs. Donors can then pick projects or schools to fund. Rho has chosen to donate funds to the lowest income schools in the area, where communities are less likely to be able to fund projects.

"Public schools face budget shortages each year, shortages that are frequently made up by teachers paying for needed supplies out of their own pockets," said Laura Helms Reece, co-chief executive officer, Rho. "Funding gaps in our schools contribute to the weakening of public education, which creates huge risks to the business climate in North Carolina. With this donation, Rho will fund 20 projects in 14 schools in need of support."

Through Rho's peer-to-peer bonus system, additional donations may be made. The program allows Rho employees to reward each other with bonus gift cards for quality work. DonorsChoose.org is one of the gift card options.

"Both Laura and I benefitted from North Carolina public schools, from kindergarten through graduate school. We are happy to pay back the state's investment in our education by paying taxes, providing good, high-paying jobs, and contributing to local schools," said Russ Helms, co-chief executive officer, Rho. "I have personally supported schools through DonorsChoose.org in the past, and I am excited for Rho to take even more tangible steps in supporting our state's educators."

Rho's donation will fund math and science programs such as:

Materials for middle school students to create and organize engineering notebooks

Hands-on science and STEM activities such as building and sustaining a classroom river tank ecosystem

The Triangle-based company is challenging other businesses across the state and the country to support students and teachers in the public school education system. To learn more about Rho, please visit www.rhoworld.com.

About Rho

Rho, a privately-held, contract research organization (CRO) located in Chapel Hill, NC, provides a full range of clinical research services across the entire drug development process. For more 31 years, Rho has been a trusted partner to some of the industry's leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies as well as academic and government organizations. Our commitment to excellence, our innovative technologies, and our therapeutic expertise accelerate time to market, maximize returns on investment, and lead to an exceptional customer experience. Please follow us on Twitter.